Even if you're well-versed in time-management and
goal-setting techniques, achieving balance is especially difficult
for start-up entrepreneurs. You're putting in horribly long
hours. You're the CEO, marketing director, receptionist,
tech-support person and janitor all rolled into one. And the hours
you're away from your business, you're worrying about it,
which can leave you feeling fatigued and irritable-with little
patience or energy for anything or anyone else.

But if you don't strike a balance between work, family and
play-even when you're launching a new company-you put a lot at
risk:

You risk burning out and sabotaging all that you have
sacrificed for.

You risk damaging relationships that are important to you
and your business.

You risk missing out on new money-making opportunities and
ideas because you have tunnel vision.

Balance, on the other hand, means committing to having your life
revolve around more than just your venture. It means family and
personal relationships are im-portant and fulfilling to you. It
means you work hard and play hard, and you feel energetic and
pumped up about life. So how can you realistically achieve balance
while launching your company? Here are six strategies:

1. Define your priorities. This is the starting point.
Unless you determine what's most important to you and live out
those priorities, you'll find yourself constantly busy-and less
and less happy. By identifying what matters most to you (in order
of priority, be it your business, family, friendships, recreation,
spirituality or anything else), you gain a framework from which to
structure your time.

The following books are excellent resources in helping you set
your own priorities:

Maximum Achievement:Strategies and
Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed
(Fireside) by Brian Tracy

First Things First:to Live, to Love,
to Learn, to Leave a Legacy (Fireside) by Stephen R. Covey

2. Set realistic expectations of your time. Make peace
with the fact that, as a start-up entrepreneur, you won't have
time to do all the activities you did as a salaried employee.
"Forget your golf game," quips Von Fassnacht, 33, a
former investment banker who, in March 2000, launched
AngelWarehouse.com, an Atlanta-based dotcom that links early-stage
companies with potential angel investors.

Realize that for a "season," whether it's for six
months or six years, you'll need to streamline your activity to
focus on your most important tasks until your new venture is at
least out of the survival stage. And that may mean cutting back on
some things. This way, you'll keep yourself from feeling
frustrated with your schedule.

3. Relax! "When you do find a lull in your schedule,
take advantage of it," advises Fassnacht. "Often, I find
I work so hard that when business slows down, I wonder what I
should be doing next. The answer is to seize the moment and spend
it away from work."

4. Build relationships with other balanced people. Look
for mentors who can help hold you accountable to follow through on
your priorities. If you don't know anyone off the top of your
head, where do you start to find these people? Join trade
associations, networking groups or any organization that puts you
in contact with other entrepreneurs.

5. Learn to say no. Other people will dictate your
schedule if you don't learn to say no. And the resentment
you'll feel toward these people will not help your business.
Make time for what's important to you, and do it without
apology. Realize that you control when and how you accomplish your
objectives. Don't let other people's expectations steer you
off course.

6. Devote one day a week to family or other high-priority
activity. "The greatest challenge is to force yourself to
push work aside and devote time to family," says Fassnacht.
"If you take one day and set it aside, it will do wonders for
your sanity."

Sean M. Lyden is co-founder and CEO of PRessCafe.com Inc., an
Atlanta-based B2B portal that connects small businesses to the
right journalists-for free. The site is expected to launch
imminently.

Sean M. Lyden

Sean Lyden is the CEO of Prestige Positioning (a service of The Professional Writing Firm Inc.), an Atlanta-based firm that "positions" clients as leading experts in their field-through ghost-written articles and books for publication. Clie...